New York’s subway is creaking
It needs more than the customary bodge
“WE ARE delayed because of train traffic ahead of us,” intoned the familiar automated message on a stalled subway train on June 27th. Earlier that morning a train had derailed, injuring 34 people. The derailment caused delays, re-routings and suspended trains across the century-old system. “The subway is worse now than in the 70s,” grumbled one experienced commuter. Back then the subway was plagued by crime, graffiti and delays galore. Today crime is low, graffiti gallery-worthy and rider numbers at levels not seen since the 1940s. Partly as a result of this popularity, delays have increased by more than 200% since 2012.
This article appeared in the United States section of the print edition under the headline “Notes from underground”
United States
July 8th 2017- State governments are shutting down more frequently
- New York’s subway is creaking
- The Republicans’ chances of replacing Obamacare are receding
- California mounts an offensive in the bathroom wars
- The origin of the specious
- The story of a shooting in Atlanta
- The decline of the American teenager's summer job
From the July 8th 2017 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the edition
Donald Trump’s approval rating is dropping
He is beating his own record for rapidly annoying American voters
Can Progressives learn to make progress again?
In the political wilderness, Democrats are asking themselves how they lost their way
Tracking Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown
And why that is increasingly hard to do
America’s progressives should love standardised tests
New evidence in a long-running argument
Abortion becomes more common in some US states that outlawed it
Shield laws have profound implications for how federalism works